EEK entrance really depends on the school. The skills required by the end of kindergarten are below what you see being done in most reputable preschool programs.

The schools with high scores enjoy comfort knowing that the kids are all already 2-3 years ahead of the curriculum. Its part of the myth of MCPS success. They ride on the coat tails of what the kids are being supplemented with outside the school.

The class sizes are large and there are no aides. Just one teacher, occasional parent volunteers and sometimes a para-educator if the teacher needs to leave for a meeting. This requires kids who have the maturity to sit around doing things that aren't particularly challenging. They don't have the staff to do any meaningful break out or small group work. The kids may break into groups but they are working their sheet on their own without much adult feedback.

At our school last year, a new student moved back from 1st grade into our K after the first few weeks on the recommendation of the principal. She had all the end of K skills and a good number of 1st grade skills but she wasn't as far ahead of the other kids in 1st grade. Her mom moved her so she wouldn't feel self conscious but to someone new to this system she was right about how crazy it is that to be in first grade you have to be really ready for end of second grade and then be happy to sit through first grade work. Its crazy but that is how principals maintain their scores without managing local staffing and pushing for a curriculum that works.

Yes, she qualified for EEK.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, why not be honest with her then? Tell her you are going to visit the school and then the grownups are going to decide what is best for her for next year. My just turned 5 year old could understand this I think. And if she gets rejected, sure she might be disappointed but such is life.

Yes. I told my five-year-old that we were going to her kindergarten assessment. We were going to meet the teachers and see the classroom, and then somebody would go with her into a different classroom and ask her some questions to find out if she was ready for kindergarten.

And did she pass the assessment?

Anonymous wrote:PP, why not be honest with her then? Tell her you are going to visit the school and then the grownups are going to decide what is best for her for next year. My just turned 5 year old could understand this I think. And if she gets rejected, sure she might be disappointed but such is life.

Only because of the possibility that the pressure of having to perform might make her nervous enough such that she would not do as well on the exam. Well, that and the potential disappointment. I suppose I like to try to protect her from disappointment. Of course I know that isn't always the best strategy, just my natural instinct.

^whoops, she was four, not five, of course!

Anonymous wrote:PP, why not be honest with her then? Tell her you are going to visit the school and then the grownups are going to decide what is best for her for next year. My just turned 5 year old could understand this I think. And if she gets rejected, sure she might be disappointed but such is life.

Yes. I told my five-year-old that we were going to her kindergarten assessment. We were going to meet the teachers and see the classroom, and then somebody would go with her into a different classroom and ask her some questions to find out if she was ready for kindergarten.

PP, why not be honest with her then? Tell her you are going to visit the school and then the grownups are going to decide what is best for her for next year. My just turned 5 year old could understand this I think. And if she gets rejected, sure she might be disappointed but such is life.